Tag Archives: Parenting

I don’t usually buy art at Bed Bath & Beyond, but when I saw this plaque, I could not stop myself from buying it because these are OUR family rules…to a tee! There are only two rules missing and those are: treat others in the way you would like to be treated and keep your hands to yourself unless you’re giving hugs or affection. If these rules describe your family, you can find quite a bit of similar plaques and wall art at Amazon. I love knowing that Tennessee and California will see these rules many times a day every day!

I can’t believe that I even NEED to post about the importance of teaching boys how to cook in the year 2012. The truth is that the old gender based stereotypes still exist that girls cook and boys get waited on hand and foot. Wake up world…boys need to learn how to cook and let’s throw in housework while we are at it.

A couple of weeks ago, I was watching an episode of John Edward Crossing Over. There was a man lamenting over the passing of his wife. He described her as an “amazing woman”. Then he went on to say, she did everything…she cooked and cleaned and made everything perfect. “I miss her so much because now I have to do all of these things by myself and I don’t know how I am going to get by.” WHAT??? First of all, I was struck by the disbelief that his own fear of having to take care of himself superseded his grief of losing his wife and the mother of his child. Unbelievable.

My boys want to learn to cook. They think it is fun. They love helping me with the more complex recipes and love to cook all by themselves also. Tennessee (age 10) makes his own grilled cheese and cheese quesadillas. He also uses the microwave to make his oatmeal in the morning. He also makes many things that don’t require the stove on his own. He serves himself his own cereal, makes PB & J sandwiches and PB & Honey sandwiches. He helps with baking cookies, muffins, cake etc. California (age 4) loves to cook also. He also helps with the more complex recipes and baking.

Below are some photos of Tennessee and California in the kitchen:

Making Pumpkin Bread

Making Scrambled Eggs & Making Pumpkin Pie

Tennessee and California are vegetarians. If your children are vegetarians, you might want to start them out cooking with this cookbook—–> Kids Can Cook: Vegetarian Recipes

It seems as though society continues to become more violent as each year passes. Unfortunately, the majority of violent offenders are men and boys. We need to nurture our boys and protect them from the violent toys and marketing that they are constantly bombarded with even as toddlers. They need “back to the basics”, natural toys to ground them and keep them balanced. They deserve more than what society dishes out to them. They deserve to be recognized as BIG souls in little bodies.

As a mom of two boys, I pay close attention to the types of toys that they are exposed to. It is common knowledge in the fields of Child Psychology, Education & Neurology, that playing video games rewires the connections within the brain that control emotion and cognitive processes. Unless a video game teaches specific skills, concepts or has educational value, then they are harming our boys. I have never allowed violent television programs or toys within our home. I feel that there is plenty of time for my boys to discover these types of things as they grow into young adults. Their time as children should be as innocent and peaceful as possible.

Humanity is at a crossroads. We need to stop raising boys to fight and start raising boys to communicate in peaceful and compassionate ways. The activities, books & toys that I select for this blog helps to preserve the innocence of boys while allowing them to be boys. Please take a look at the ideas I have shared and the activities, toys & books that I have selected and envision a more peaceful, compassionate world. Be a part of that vision by choosing these types of activities and toys for your boys.

To be completely and totally honest, the first couple of times that we flew with two children, it was a bit chaotic and somewhat distressing. However, we have finally discovered the secrets of flying with children and I am about to share them with you.

Here are my TOP TEN tips for flying painlessly with children.

#1 Encourage the whole family to wear slip-on shoes or flip flips so that going through security is quick and easy. Also, tell little ones beforehand that they will need to take their shoes off. Kids get very upset when they have to take their shoes off without warning…

#2. Be ready to put all laptops, cellphones, keys, watches, shoes into a bin to pass through security.

#3 HERE is a BIGGIE: Get your baby/toddler out of their stroller, fold it up and put it through security as soon as you can. If it goes through first, then your little guy or girl is right back in it and ready to get his/her shoes on.

#4 Bring snacks, but no liquids. They will not let you take liquids on the plane. You can buy them after you get through security.

#5 Bring lovies like their favorite blanket and stuffed animal (see California with his giraffe below).

#7 If your baby/toddler/preschooler still uses a carseat in the car, bring it on the plane! It will keep them from fidgeting, getting out of their seat and they will be more comfortable and more likely to take a nap and chill out as shown below. It helps out tremendously to schedule the flight during his/her normal naptime as well.

#8 Bring your credit card. As of June 1st, 2009, American Airlines stopped taking cash for meals, snacks, beverages and headphones. I gave them my debit card with a Visa logo and it worked just fine. Buy a cookie for your little one and tell him/her that she can have it when the plane starts to descend if he/she makes good decisions (of course, you need to outline what these good decisions are).

#9 Expect the unexpected. Pack an extra change of clothing (especially underwear and pants) in your carry-on. Pack baby wipes and antibacterial wipes even if you don’t have babies.

#10 Try to get seats in the back of the plane close to the bathrooms OR near the wing. Why? a)If your kids do get loud or upset, they will be muffled by the noise of the engines, so you don’t have to worry about bothering everyone on the plane. b)Being close to the bathroom cuts down on long walks down the aisle of the plane when they have to go really bad c) If you sit near the wing, it gives children a better perspective of how they are traveling, of the Earth and its landforms and of the sky and clouds – which makes for great conversations.

BONUS TIP: Don’t let your kids kick the back of the seat in the car, ever. This will make them less likely to kick the seat in front of them in the plane (which is a big pet peeve for non parents and parents alike). Make sure to not feed them any sugar or caffeine before the flight so that they aren’t on a sugar high and more restless than usual. Save the sugar for good decisions at the end of the flight!

That’s it! I would love to hear more tips from other traveling families out there…please leave a comment!

Raising boys in California is a multi-faceted journey that requires a clever trick of the hand. When I appear to be “absent” from this blog, I am busy homeschooling, researching and publishing other blogs that directly relate to our California way of life. I also read. I read a lot. I usually read three or four books at a time. I am not sure if this is adult ADD or if this is merely the need to multi-task, since I seem to pile so much on my plate.

2. Your toddler can easily climb in and out of his crib with the rails up.

3. Your toddler is potty trained and needs to get up at night to use the bathroom.

4. Your toddler has requested to sleep in a big kid bed.

5. You leave the room for 45 seconds (after putting your toddler in his crib) and come back to find your toddler perched on top of the corner of his crib, smiling and happily clapping to Mozart (as shown below).

Have you ever wondered what is in disposable diapers that makes them so absorbent? Have you ever seen the little gel like beads on your baby/toddlers bottom during a diaper change?

Better yet, have you ever seen a mess like this??

The above is a picture of a soaked diaper after being tossed from the second floor down to the first floor (also known as a diaper bomb)shown below:

After cleaning up this mess, I decided to find out what this stuff was made of and if it was safe to be next to my little boy’s skin 24 hours a day for nearly three years. I found out more information regarding disposable diapers than just what the gel is made of…take a look.

According to an article in Mothering Magazine (Issue 88 May/June), this gel is made of Sodium Polyacrylate. This is a super-absorbent polymer that has never been tested to determine the effects of long term, continual exposure in humans. What effect does this have on the health of our children and their reproductive organs? We don’t know because no one has cared enough to do studies to determine these effects. Here are some facts about Sodium Polyacrylate:

1. It exists in disposable diapers as a powder until it gets wet. This is when it turns into slushy/gel beads which can often be seen on your baby’s skin during a diaper change.

2. This gel like substance can absorb 100x it’s weight in liquid.

3. It has been implicated as one of the causes of Toxic Shock Syndrome

The ingredients of disposable diapers gets even better. Apparently, traditional dispodable diapers use chlorine gas to bleach diapers which produces dioxin, TBT and other dangerous chemicals.

The following is a list of chemicals found and/or emitted from disposable diapers and health implications for each:

Dioxin:
* a carcinogen (causes cancer)
* EPA lists this as the most toxic of cancer causing chemicals
* Even in small quantities it causes birth defects, acne-like skin infections, disease and rashes, liver disease, immune system supression, genetic damage, reproductive, developmental and behavioral effects. Some sources list Dioxin as a possible cause for Autism and other Autism Spectrum disorders.
* Banned in most countries but not U.S.

My source? The internet. The information is out there. Knowledge is power. Check out these links:

A study conducted in 1999 called “Acute Respiratory Effects of Diaper Emissions” concluded that the chemicals within diapers caused eye, nose and throat irritation in addition to asthma-like symtpoms including decreased lung capacity. Mice were exposed to a diaper from six leading disposable and cotton diaper brands. Within one hour, all of the disposable diapers(except for one brand) caused eye, nose and throat irritation AND bronchoconstriction similar to an asthma attack. Repeat exposures after 6 and 24 hours caused the negative symptoms to more than double and in some cases quadruple. The authors of this study concluded that there is a link between disposable diapers and asthma and urged further research into this matter.

California has had a rash since the beginning of January. It wasn’t a diaper rash, but more of an allergic acne-like rash. As soon as I switched to diapers that were chlorine free and gel free, the rash miraculously disappeared within two or three days. He has also been hospitalized with Severe Asthma on three separate occasions…so this is another reason why I felt that he needed chemical free diapers.

I alternate Tushies during the day with Seventh Generation diapers at night for extra absorbency. *UPDATE 7/11/08 – I use Nature Babycare! You can buy these at Target You can buy most of the other brands of diapers at Whole Foods and Wild Oats or order them online. They really aren’t more expensive and it is better to be safe than sorry. It is also better for the environment which is an entirely different issue…it isn’t as green as using cloth diapers but it is better than using diapers made with chemicals that leach into our drinking water from landfills…the same water that your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will drink someday.

This is just for fun, but a lot of this is true for me as an Aquarius, especially the information in bold.

Aquarius and Virgo

Virgo and Aquarius might not always see things the same way, but they can discuss their differences and work through them without too much trouble. When Virgo’s sensitive nerves go on “overload”, Aquarius can usually keep a rational conversation going, and flush out the issues that need to be dealt with. Virgo worries a lot, and begins many, many sentences with the words “What if…” Obviously, this can lead to problems when it comes to taking care of children. Virgo will have trouble trusting Aquarius when the children have to be whisked away to their next life passage. But whether it’s the first dentist appointment or the first day of college, Aquarius will try to teach the child about how he or she can make the world a better place. Of the two, Virgo will be the more practical disciplinarian, though Aquarius will always set high standards for the children’s behavior.

L.A. Mama says: Hmmm I need to talk to the Virgo Daddio about this trust issue when it comes to life passages. Could it have something to do with not having money for the parking garage, locking my keys in the car on a semi-regular basis and taking a list to the store but losing it before I even walk into the store? Hey, I can be absent minded at times…but I have never misplaced the kids

Click HERE to read more about Aquarians Click HERE to see your parenting astrologyClick HERE to find out more about your sign.

* Remember this is just for fun! People are multi-dimensional so just judging yourself or others based upon their Sun sign isn’t a great way to see the big picture. The description of my Sun sign is pretty accurate for me though…except I disagree with the part that says Aquarians have “crazy notions”. Where would they get that idea??

See ya…I have to run outside and move my car to the other side of the street before I get a parking ticket!